Method and system for full spectrum capture for satellite and terrestrial applications

ABSTRACT

A multiband receiver comprising an integrated diversity antenna system is operable to receive satellite and terrestrial television. The multiband receiver captures spectrum comprising satellite television channels and/or terrestrial television channels and demodulate the satellite television channels and/or the terrestrial television channels. The diversity antenna system is integrated on a board or substrate within the multiband receiver. The multiband receiver discriminates between satellite television signals and non-satellite television signals in the captured spectrum and also discriminates between the terrestrial television signals and non-terrestrial television signals in the captured spectrum. The multiband receiver generates output satellite television channel content from the demodulated satellite television channels and also generates output terrestrial television channel content from the demodulated terrestrial television channels. The multiband receiver packetizes the generated output satellite and/or terrestrial television channel content. The generated output satellite and/or terrestrial television channel content is communicated to one or more mobile communication devices.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application makes reference to and claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/620,720, which was filed on Apr. 5,2012.

This application also makes reference to:

-   U.S. application Ser. No. 13/485,003 filed on May 31, 2012;-   U.S. application Ser. No. 13/336,451 filed on Dec. 23, 2011:-   U.S. application Ser. No. 13/607,916 filed on Sep. 10, 2012;-   U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 250141US02),    which was filed on ______, 2013;-   U.S. application Ser. No. 13/356,265, which was filed on Jan. 23,    2012; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,010,070, (application Ser. No.    12/247,908), which issued on Aug. 30, 2011, discloses exemplary    Low-Complexity Diversity Using Coarse FFT and Coarse Sub-band-wise    Combining.

Each of the above referenced application is hereby incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention relate to wired and wirelesscommunication systems. More specifically, certain embodiments of theinvention relate to a method and system for full spectrum capture forsatellite and terrestrial applications.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A satellite dish is placed outdoors and is oriented in a direction thatprovides an unobstructed view of a satellite. Commercial satellitestypically operate in the range of about 950 MHz and 2150 MHz.

Terrestrial television (TV) provides over-the-air broadcast televisionand typically operates at frequencies that are approximately less than950 MHz.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention asset forth in the remainder of the present application with reference tothe drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and/or method is provided for full spectrum capture (FSC) forsatellite and terrestrial applications, substantially as shown in and/ordescribed in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forthmore completely in the claims.

These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the presentinvention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, willbe more fully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of an exemplary system for providing fullspectrum capture (FSC) of terrestrial television and satellitetelevision signals for mobile applications, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1B is a high level block diagram of an exemplary multiband mobilereceiver with an integrated transceiver, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary diversity antennasystem in a multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1D is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary diversity antennasystem comprising an antenna array module, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an exemplary diversity receiver thatutilizes full spectrum capture, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram of a portion of a multiband mobile receiverillustrating a full spectrum capture diversity receiver coupled to atransceiver, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary I/Q RF receive processingchain module of a full spectrum capture diversity receiver, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a plurality of multiband mobileradios, which are coupled in a daisy chain arrangement, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary diversity receiver thatutilizes full spectrum capture and is operable to remodulate IF signals,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for utilizing fullspectrum capture for communicating with a mobile device, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for utilizing fullspectrum capture for communicating with a mobile device, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for utilizing fullspectrum capture for communicating with a mobile device, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a method and systemfor full spectrum capture (FSC) for satellite and terrestrialapplications. In various aspects of the invention, a multiband receivercomprising a diversity antenna system is operable to receive satelliteand terrestrial television signals. An exemplary diversity antennasystem comprises a phased array antenna system. The multiband receiveris operable to capture spectrum comprising one or more satellitetelevision channels and/or one or more terrestrial television channelsand demodulate the one or more satellite television channels and/or theone or more terrestrial television channels. The diversity antennasystem may be integrated on a board or substrate within the multibandreceiver. The multiband receiver may be operable to discriminate betweenthe satellite television signals and the non-satellite televisionsignals in the captured spectrum and also discriminate between theterrestrial television signals and non-terrestrial television signals inthe captured spectrum. The multiband receiver may be operable togenerate output satellite television channel content from thedemodulated one or more satellite television channels and also generateoutput terrestrial television channel content from the demodulated oneor more terrestrial television channels. The multiband receiver may beoperable to packetize the generated output satellite television channelcontent and also packetize the output generated terrestrial televisionchannel content. The multiband receiver may be operable to communicatethe generated output satellite television channel content to one or moremobile communication devices and also communicate the generated outputterrestrial television channel content to one or more mobilecommunication devices. The multiband receiver may be operable todownconvert signals for the demodulated one or more satellite televisionchannels to one or more corresponding intermediate frequency satellitetelevision signals and also downconvert signals for the demodulated oneor more terrestrial television channels to one or more correspondingintermediate frequency terrestrial television signals. The multibandreceiver may be operable to remodulate the one or more correspondingintermediate frequency satellite television signals and also remodulatethe one or more corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrialtelevision signals. The multiband receiver may be operable tocommunicate the remodulated one or more corresponding intermediatefrequency satellite television signals to one or more other multibandreceivers comprising one or more diversity antenna systems. Themultiband receiver comprising the diversity antenna system and the oneor more other multiband receivers comprising one or more diversityantenna system are coupled in a daisy-chain arrangement. The multibandreceiver may also be operable to communicate the remodulated one or morecorresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals tothe one or more other multiband receivers comprising one or morediversity antenna systems. The multiband receiver comprising thediversity antenna system and the one or more other multiband receiverscomprising the one or more diversity antenna systems may be coupled toan integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box. The integratedsatellite and terrestrial TV set-top box may be operable to extractsatellite television channel content from the remodulated one or morecorresponding intermediate frequency satellite television signals andalso extract terrestrial television channel content from the remodulatedone or more corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial televisionsignals.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of an exemplary system for providing fullspectrum capture of terrestrial television and satellite televisionsignals for mobile applications, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

Referring to FIG. 1A, there is shown a satellite television network 104,a terrestrial television network 106, a first multiband mobile receiverwith an integrated transceiver 108, a second multiband mobile receiverwith an integrated transceiver 116, a first wireless network 112, asecond wireless network 120, tablets 114 a, 122 a, smartphones 114 b,122 b, and laptops 114 c, 122 c. The tablets 114 a, 122 a, theSmartphones 114 b, 122 b, and the laptops 114 c, 122 c may becollectively referenced as mobile communication devices. The tablet 114a, the Smartphone 114 b and the laptop 114 c may be collectivelyreferenced as mobile communication devices 114. The tablet 122 a, theSmartphone 122 b and the laptop 122 c may be collectively referenced asmobile communication devices 122. The first multiband mobile receiverwith an integrated transceiver 108 may comprise a diversity antennasystem such as a plurality of integrated phased antenna arrays 110. Thesecond multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 116 maycomprise a plurality of integrated phased antenna arrays 118.

The satellite television network 104 may comprise a plurality oforbiting satellites that may be operable to receive broadcast satellitetelevision signals from a headend earth station and communicate thecorresponding received satellite television signals over the air forreception by a receiver. In this regard, the first multiband mobilereceiver with an integrated transceiver 108 may be operable to receivethe satellite television signals from the satellite television network104 via the phased array antennas 110. Similarly, the second multibandmobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 116 may be operable toreceive the satellite television signals from the satellite televisionnetwork 104 via the phased array antennas 118.

The terrestrial television network 106 may comprise one or more earthstations that are operable to broadcast terrestrial television signalsover the air. The terrestrial television signals from the terrestrialtelevision network 106 may be received by the first multiband mobilereceiver with an integrated transceiver 108 and the second multibandmobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 116. In this regard, thefirst multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 maybe operable to receive the terrestrial television signals from theterrestrial television network 106 via the phased array antennas 110.Similarly, the second multiband mobile receiver with an integratedtransceiver 116 may be operable to receive the terrestrial televisionsignals from the terrestrial television network 106 via the phased arrayantennas 118.

Each of the first multiband mobile receiver with an integratedtransceiver 108, and the second multiband mobile receiver with anintegrated transceiver 116 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to receive and processsatellite television signals and terrestrial television signals. In thisregard, the first multiband mobile receiver with an integratedtransceiver 108 may be operable to receiver satellite television signalsfrom the satellite television network 104 via the plurality ofintegrated phased antenna arrays 110. Similarly, the second multibandmobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 116 may be operable toreceiver satellite television signals from the satellite televisionnetwork 104 via the plurality of integrated phased antenna arrays 118.The first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108may also be operable to receiver terrestrial television signals from theterrestrial television network 106 via the plurality of integratedphased antenna arrays 110. Similarly, the second multiband mobilereceiver with an integrated transceiver 116 may be operable to receiverterrestrial television signals from the terrestrial television network106 via the plurality of integrated phased antenna arrays 118.

The first wireless network 112 may be established between the firstmultiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 and themobile communication devices 114. The wireless network 112 may be a WPANor WLAN that enables communication between one or more of the mobilecommunication devices 114 and the first multiband mobile receiver withan integrated transceiver 108. In an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, the first multiband mobile receiver with an integratedtransceiver 108 may comprise a wireless hotspot functionality, which mayenable establishment of the first wireless network 112. In this regard,the tablet 114 a, the Smartphone 114 b and the laptop 114 c may beoperable to communicate with the first multiband mobile receiver with anintegrated transceiver 108.

The second wireless network 120 may be established between the secondmultiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 116 and themobile communication devices 122. The wireless network 120 may be a WPANor WLAN network that enables communication between one or more of themobile communication devices 122 and the second multiband mobilereceiver with an integrated transceiver 116. In an exemplary embodimentof the invention, the second multiband mobile receiver with anintegrated transceiver 116 may comprise wireless hotspot functionality,which enables establishment of the second wireless network 120. In thisregard, the tablet 122 a, the Smartphone 112 b and the laptop 122 c maybe operable to communicate with the second multiband mobile receiverwith an integrated transceiver 116.

Each of the mobile communication devices may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to transmitand/or receive wireless communication signals, for example WPAN signalsand/or WLAN signals. In this regard, the tablet 114 a, the Smartphone114 b and the laptop 114 c may be operable to wirelessly communicatewith the first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver108 via, for example, WPAN and/or WLAN protocols. Similarly, the tablet122 a, the Smartphone 122 b and the laptop 122 c may be operable towirelessly communicate with the second multiband mobile receiver with anintegrated transceiver 116 via, for example, a WPAN and/or WLAN.

In operation, the first multiband mobile receiver with an integratedtransceiver 108 may be operable to adjust the plurality of phased arrayantennas 110 to optimize reception of the satellite television signalsthat are received from the satellite television network 104 and theterrestrial television signals that are received from the terrestrialtelevision network 106. The first multiband mobile receiver with anintegrated transceiver 108 may be operable to capture and process thereceived satellite television signals using full spectrum capture inorder to extract the corresponding satellite television content. Theextracted satellite television content may then be packetized as, forexample, Internet Protocol (IP) packets and then transmitted over thewireless network 112 via, for example, a WPAN and/or WLAN. One or moreof the tablet 122 a, the Smartphone 112 b and the laptop 122 c may beoperable to receive the transmitted IP packets and accordingly presentthe corresponding satellite television content for viewing. In anexemplary embodiment of the invention, an application (app) running onthe tablet 122 a, the Smartphone 112 b and the laptop 122 c may beoperable to tune to a satellite television channel in order to viewcorresponding channel content.

The first multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108may be operable to capture and process the received terrestrialtelevision signals using full spectrum capture in order to extract thecorresponding terrestrial television content. The extracted terrestrialtelevision content may then be packetized as, for example, InternetProtocol (IP) packets and then transmitted over the wireless network 112via, for example, a WPAN and/or WLAN. One or more of the tablet 122 a,the Smartphone 112 b and the laptop 122 c may be operable to receive thecorresponding transmitted IP packets and accordingly present theterrestrial television content for viewing. In an exemplary embodimentof the invention, an application (app) running on the tablet 122 a, theSmartphone 112 b and the laptop 122 c may be operable to tune to acorresponding terrestrial television channel in order to viewcorresponding terrestrial television content.

Aspects of full spectrum capture may be found in U.S. application Ser.No. 13/485,003 filed May 31, 2012, U.S. application Ser. No. 13/336,451filed on Dec. 23, 2011 and U.S. application Ser. No. 13/607,916 filedSep. 10, 2012. Each of these applications is hereby incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

U.S. application Ser. No. 13/356,265, which was filed on Jan. 23, 2012disclosures operation of an exemplary full spectrum receiver and ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the first multibandmobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 may be operable toconcurrently capture one or more satellite television channels and oneor more terrestrial television channels. The first multiband mobilereceiver with an integrated transceiver 108 may be operable to determinewhich one of the captured satellite television channel and acorresponding captured terrestrial television channel may possess thebetter channel quality. In instances where the captured terrestrialtelevision channel possesses a better channel quality than thecorresponding captured satellite television channel, the correspondingcontent for the captured terrestrial television channel may bepacketized and then transmitted over the wireless network 112 to one ormore of the mobile communication devices 114. In this regard, although auser of one of the mobile communication devices 114 may have selectedviewing of a particular satellite television channel, the multibandmobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 may be operable toswitch to the corresponding terrestrial television content, whichpossesses a better quality than the corresponding satellite televisioncontent. The switch may occur transparently of the user so that user isunaware of the source of the content that is being presented.

In instances where the captured satellite television channel possesses abetter channel quality than the corresponding captured terrestrialtelevision channel, the corresponding content for the captured satellitetelevision channel may be packetized and then transmitted over thewireless network 112 to one or more of the mobile communication device114. In this regard, although a user of one of the mobile communicationdevices 114 may have selected viewing of a particular terrestrialtelevision channel, the first multiband mobile receiver with anintegrated transceiver 108 may be operable to switch to thecorresponding satellite television content, which possesses a betterquality than the corresponding terrestrial television content. Theswitch may occur transparently to the user so that the user is unawareof the source of the content that is being presented.

The second multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 116may operate in a manner that may be substantially similar to theoperation of the first multiband mobile receiver with an integratedtransceiver 108. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the firstmultiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 may belocated in a parking lot where it may be utilized during a tailgatingparty or other event where one or more users may want to receiveterrestrial and/or satellite television content. For example, the firstmultiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 108 may beplaced on top of a vehicle at the tailgating party or other event.

FIG. 1B is a high level block diagram of an exemplary multiband mobilereceiver with an integrated transceiver, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1B, there is shown amultiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 123. Themultiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 123 comprises adiversity antenna system 124, an antenna interface 126, an FSC diversityreceiver 128 and a wireless transceiver 130.

The diversity antenna system 124 may comprise, for example, a pluralityof phased antenna arrays 124 a, . . . , 124 n. Each of the plurality ofphased antenna arrays 124 a, . . . , 124 n may comprise a plurality ofantenna array elements. The plurality of antenna array elements may beconfigured to optimally receive satellite television signals andterrestrial television signals. In accordance with an embodiment of theinvention, the plurality of phased antenna arrays 124 a, . . . , 124 nmay be integrated on a circuit board or other substrate material. Theplurality of phased antenna arrays 124 a, . . . , 124 n may beimplemented utilizing MEMs or other technology.

The antenna interface 126 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to control operation of eachof the plurality of phased antenna arrays 124 a, . . . , 124 n in thediversity antenna system 124.

The FSC diversity receiver 128 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to capture one or moresatellite television channels and/or terrestrial television channels anddemodulate them to generate corresponding satellite television contentand/or terrestrial television content. The resulting satellitetelevision content and/or terrestrial television content may bepacketized in IP packets and communicated to the wireless transceiver130. The FSC diversity receiver 128 may be operable to capture a chunkof spectrum between approximately 0 MHz to 2150 MHz and discriminatebetween satellite television channels, non-satellite televisionchannels, terrestrial television channels and non-terrestrial televisionchannels. The FSC diversity receiver 128 may also be operable to switchbetween a selected satellite television channel and a correspondingterrestrial television channel, and also between a selected terrestrialtelevision channel and a corresponding satellite television channelbased on which on of the terrestrial television channel and thesatellite television channel possesses the better channel quality.

The wireless transceiver 130 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to receive packetizedcontent from the FSC diversity receiver 128 and communicate thepacketized content via a corresponding protocol. The wirelesstransceiver 130 may be operable to communicate utilizing one or moreprotocols such as wireless local area network (WLAN) and wirelesspersonal area network (WPAN). Exemplary WLAN protocols may comprise802.11a/b/g/n/ac and other variants thereof, and so on. Exemplary WPANprotocols may comprise Bluetooth, Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) and ZigBee.

In operation, the multiband mobile receiver with an integratedtransceiver 123 may be operable to concurrently capture a block offrequency which may comprise one or more satellite television channelsand/or one or more terrestrial television channels. The multiband mobilereceiver with an integrated transceiver 123 may determine whichterrestrial television channels and which satellite television channelswere captured. The multiband mobile receiver with an integratedtransceiver 123 may determine which one of the captured satellitetelevision channel and a corresponding captured terrestrial televisionchannel may have the better channel quality. Based on which one of thecaptured satellite television channel and the corresponding capturedterrestrial television channel may have the better channel quality, themultiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver 123 maypacketize the content from the better channel for communication to amobile communication device.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary diversity antennasystem in a multiband mobile receiver with an integrated transceiver, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1C,there is shown a multiband mobile receiver with an integratedtransceiver 136, an antenna interface 138, and a plurality of antennas140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n. In an exemplary embodiment, the pluralityof antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n may comprise phased arrayantennas. Each of the phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 nmay comprise a plurality of phase array elements, namely, 142 a, 142 b,. . . , 142 n, respectively. The plurality of phased array antennas 140a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n are an exemplary embodiment of a diversityantenna system.

The antenna interface 138 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to control operation of eachof the plurality of phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n.In this regard, the antenna interface may be operable to adjust theplurality of phase array elements, namely, 142 a, 142 b, . . . , 142 nin each of the phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n,respectively to receive satellite television signals and/or terrestrialtelevision signals. The antenna interface 138 may be operable toconfigure each of the plurality of phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, .. . , 140 n to increase the resonant frequency of the combined pluralityof phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n.

Each of the phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n maycomprise a plurality of phase array elements, namely, 142 a, 142 b, . .. , 142 n, respectively. The plurality of phased array antennas 140 a,140 b, . . . , 140 n may be integrated on a circuit board or othersubstrate 143. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, theplurality of phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n may beimplemented utilizing MEMS. In this regard, for example, one or moreswitches may be utilized to control and/or configure the phased arrayantennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n. In some embodiment of theinvention, the phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n may befabricated as a stand alone until, which may be later coupled to areceiver.

In operation, the antenna interface 138 may be operable staticallyand/or dynamically configure the plurality of phase array elements,namely, 142 a, 142 b, . . . , 142 n for the corresponding plurality ofphased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n to optimally receivethe satellite television signals and/or terrestrial television signals.The received television signals and/or terrestrial television signalsmay be communicated to the full spectrum diversity receiver (128 in FIG.1B). The signals received from each of the phase array elements, namely,142 a, 142 b, . . . , 142 n for the corresponding plurality of phasedarray antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n may be combined to mitigatethe effects of antenna impedance mismatch. Placing the full spectrumdiversity receiver close to the phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . .. , 140 n eliminates a need to run multiple wires from the phase arrayelements to the full spectrum diversity receiver. This in turn maymitigate the effects of signal loss.

FIG. 1D is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary diversity antennasystem comprising an antenna array module, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1D, there is shown anantenna array module 136, which may be, for example, a phased antennaarray module. The phased antenna array module 136 may comprise anantenna interface 138, a connector 139, a plurality of phased arrayantennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n. Each of the plurality of phasedarray antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n may comprise a correspondingplurality of phased array antenna elements 142 a, 142 b, . . . , 142 n.The phased antenna array module 136 along with the arrangement of theplurality of phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n may bereferred to as a “pizza box” antenna. The plurality of phased arrayantennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n are an exemplary embodiment of adiversity antenna system.

The plurality of phased antenna arrays 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n maybe integrated on a planar surface such as the substrate 143. The planarsurface may also comprise a circuit board or package. In someembodiments of the invention, the plurality of phased antenna arrays 140a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n may be integrated on a planar surface to enablethe corresponding antenna elements to capture satellite and terrestrialsignals from a plurality of directions.

The connector 139 may be operable to couple the phased antenna arraymodule 136 to one or more receivers such as the multiband mobilereceiver with integrated transceiver 123. In various exemplaryembodiments of the invention, the connector 139 may comprise a BNCcoaxial connector. For example, the connector 139 may comprise a thincoaxial connector.

In some embodiments of the invention, two or more of the phased antennaarray modules 136 may be coupled together via the connector 130. Forexample, the respective connectors on a plurality of the phased antennaarray module 136 may be utilized to daisy chain the plurality of thephased antenna array modules 136.

In an embodiment of the invention, one or more phased antenna arraymodules such as the phased antenna array module 136 may temporarilyplaced, for example, on the top of a car or other vehicle at, forexample, a tail-gating party and utilized to capture satellitetelevision signals and/or terrestrial television signals. In anotherembodiment of the invention, one or more phased antenna array modulessuch as the phased antenna array module 136 may integrated as an antennaunit, which may be placed on or integrated with the roof of a vehicleand utilized to capture satellite television signals and/or terrestrialtelevision signals. In another embodiment of the invention, one or morephased antenna array modules such as the phased antenna array module 136may integrated as an antenna unit, which may be part of a television orcoupled to the television, where it may be utilized to capture satellitetelevision signals and/or terrestrial television signals.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the antenna elementsin the phased antenna array module 136 may be automatically and/ordynamically configured to optimize reception of satellite televisionsignals and/or terrestrial television signals. For example, duringinitial setup of the television, the phased antenna array module 136 maybe configured to optimize reception of the free satellite televisionchannels and/or terrestrial television signals. Subsequently, when aviewer desires to receive the free satellite television channels and/orterrestrial television channels, the integrated phased array antennasmay be utilized to receive these corresponding signals for the freesatellite television channels or terrestrial television signals withoutthe need to communicatively couple the television to a dedicatedterrestrial television antenna and a satellite dish. The antennaelements in the phased antenna array module 136 may also be dynamicallyconfigured to optimize reception of the free satellite televisionchannels and/or terrestrial television signals.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an exemplary diversity receiver thatutilizes full spectrum capture, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. Referring to FIG. 2A, there is shown a diversity receiver200. The diversity receiver 200 may comprise phased array antennas 202a, . . . , 202 n, antenna interface 204, variable gain amplifiers 205 a,205 b, multiplexers 206 a, 206 b, I/Q RF receive processing chainmodules 208 a, 208 b, local oscillator generator (LOGEN) 209,channelizers 210 a, 210 b, maximum ratio combiner 212 and a basebandprocessor 214. The variable gain amplifier 205 a, the multiplexer 206 a,the I/Q RF receive processing chain module 208 a, and the channelizer210 a may be operable to handle the processing of signals received viathe antenna 202 a. The variable gain amplifier 205 b, the multiplexer206 b, the I/Q RF receive processing chain module 208 b, and thechannelizer 210 b may be operable to handle the processing of signalsreceived via the antenna 202 b.

Each of the phased array antennas 202 a, . . . , 202 n may comprise aplurality of phased array antenna elements that are operable to receiveterrestrial television signals and satellite television signals. Thephased array antennas 202 a, . . . , 202 n may be substantially similarto the phased array antennas 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n, which areillustrated and described with respect to FIG. 1C.

The antenna interface 204 may comprise suitable logic circuitryinterfaces and/or code that may be operable to interface with, manageand/or control operation of the phased array antennas 202 a, . . . , 202n. In this regard, the antenna interface 204 may be operable to manageand control operation of the phased antenna array elements in each ofthe phase array antennas (eg 140 a, 140 b, . . . , 140 n of FIG. 1C) ineach of the phased array antennas 202 a, . . . , 202 n. The antennainterface 204 may also be operable to interface the phase array antennas202 a, . . . , 202 n with the corresponding processing paths in the fullspectrum capture diversity receiver 200.

The variable gain amplifiers 205 a, 205 b may comprise suitable logiccircuitry interfaces and/or code that may be operable to variably adjusta corresponding gain of the input signals, which are received fromantenna interface 204. For example, the variable gain amplifiers 205 amay be operable to amplify and/or buffer the signal received via theantenna 202 a from the antenna interface 204. The variable gainamplifiers 205 a, 205 b may operate in different modes that enablecapturing of different size bandwidths. For example, the variable gainamplifiers 205 a, 205 b may be configured to capture narrowband signalsor broadband signals.

The multiplexers 206 a, 206 b may comprise suitable logic circuitryinterfaces and/or code that may be operable to select from among aplurality of n processing RF receive (RX) chains in the I/Q RF receiveprocessing chain modules 208 a, 208 b, respectively, where n is aninteger. For example, the multiplexers 206 a may be operable to selectwhich of the plurality of the n processing RF receive (RX) chains withinthe I/Q RF receive processing chain modules 208 a are to be utilized fordemodulation of the signal output from the multiplexer 206 a. Similarly,the multiplexers 206 b may be operable to select which of the pluralityof the n processing RF receive (RX) chains within the I/Q RF receiveprocessing chain modules 208 b are to be utilized for demodulation ofthe signal output from the multiplexer 206 b. The baseband processor 214may be operable to control which of the plurality of n processing RFreceive (RX) chains in the n I/Q RF receive processing chain modules 208a, 208 b may be selected.

The I/Q RF receive processing chain modules 208 a, 208 b may comprisesuitable logic circuitry interfaces and/or code that may be operable todemodulate the signals that are output from the multiplexer 206 a, 206b, respectively. Each of the I/Q RF receive processing chain modules 208a, 208 b may comprise a plurality of n I/Q RF receive processing chains.The baseband processor 214 may be operable to select which of the I/Q RFreceive processing chain modules 208 a, 208 b are to be utilized todemodulate the signals that are output from the multiplexers 206 a, 206b. For example, the I/Q RF receive processing chain module 208 a may beutilized to demodulate the signals that are output from the multiplexer206 a, while the I/Q RF receive processing chain module 208 b may beutilized to demodulate the signals that are output from the multiplexer206 b.

The LOGEN 209 may comprise suitable logic circuitry interfaces and/orcode that may be operable to drive one or more oscillators within theI/Q RF receive processing chain modules 208 a, 208 b. The LO generator209 may comprise, for example, one or more crystals, one or more directdigital synthesizers, and/or one or more phase-locked loops.

The channelizers 210 a, 210 b may comprise suitable logic circuitryinterfaces and/or code that may be operable to channelize thedemodulated signals that are output from the n I/Q RF receive processingchain 208 a, 208 b, respectively. The channelizers 210 a, 210 b may beoperable to separate each of the corresponding channels into a pluralityof frequency bins. The output of the channelizers 210 a, 210 b may becombined by a combiner. In accordance with an embodiment of theinvention, the channelization may be achieved via one or more digitalfiltering algorithms and/or other digital signal processing algorithms.Each of the channelizers 210 a, 210 b may comprise a plurality of bandselection filters that are operable process the corresponding outputfrom the plurality of n processing RF receive (RX) chains in the n I/QRF receive processing chain modules 208 a, 208 b in order to recover acorresponding one of the a plurality of selected frequency bands orfrequency bins. The granularity of the channelizers 210 a, 210 b may beprogrammable. In this regard, the channelizers 210 a, 210 b may beprogrammed to handle channels of varying bandwidth. For example, thechannelizers 210 a, 210 b may be programmed to handle 20 MHz and/or 40MHz channels.

The maximum ratio combiner 212 may comprise suitable logic circuitryinterfaces and/or code that may be operable to combine the channels thatare output from the channelizers 210 a, 210 b. For example, maximumratio combiner 212 may be operable to utilize, for example, a coarse FFTprocessing that employs a low complexity diversity using coarse FFT andsubband-wise combining. The coarse FFT processing may optimally combinethe signals from a plurality of frequency bins for multiple phase arrayantennas and accordingly, generate an improved maximum ratio combined(MRC) co-phased signals.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,010,070, (application Ser. No. 12/247,908), which issuedon Aug. 30, 2011, discloses exemplary Low-Complexity Diversity UsingCoarse FFT and Coarse Sub-band-wise Combining, and is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The maximum ratio combiner 212 may also be operable to utilize channelstacking and/or band stacking for the plurality of frequency bins. U.S.application Ser. No. 13/762,929, entitled “Method and System forIntegrated Stacking for Handling Channel Stacking or Band Stacking,”which was filed on Feb. 8, 2013, discloses an integrated stacking methodand is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The baseband processor 214 may comprise suitable logic circuitryinterfaces and/or code that may be operable to provide basebandprocessing on the channels that are generated from the maximum ratiocombiner 212. The baseband processor 214 may also be operable tofunction as a controller for the terrestrial television receiver 200. Inthis regard, the baseband processor 214 may be operable to control,configure and/or manage operation of one or more of the antennainterface 204, the variable gain amplifiers 205 a, 205 b, themultiplexers 206 a, 206 b, the I/Q RF receive processing chain modules208 a, 208 b, the local oscillator generator (LOGEN) 209, thechannelizers 210 a, 210 b, and the maximum ratio combiner 212. Thebaseband processor 214 may be operable to control, configure and/ormanage operation of one or more of the components in the I/Q RF receiveprocessing chain modules 208 a, 208 b such as mixers, filters and/oranalog to digital controllers (ADCs).

Although the maximum ratio combiner 212 and the baseband processor 214are illustrated as separate entities, the maximum ratio combiner 212 maybe integrated as part of the baseband processor 214.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram of a portion of a multiband mobile receiverillustrating a full spectrum capture diversity receiver coupled to atransceiver, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring to FIG. 2B, there is shown a portion of a multiband mobilereceiver 230 comprising a full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200and a transceiver 216.

The multiband mobile receiver 230 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to utilize fullspectrum capture to capture and receive one or more satellite televisionchannels and/or one or more terrestrial television channels. Themultiband mobile receiver 230 is substantially similar to the multibandmobile receiver 230 with transceiver, which is illustrated in anddescribed with respect to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B.

The full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200 is substantiallysimilar to the full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200, which isillustrated in and described with respect to FIG. 2A.

The transceiver 216 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable to transmit and receive wirelesssignals. In various exemplary embodiments of the invention, thetransceiver 216 may be operable to utilize WPAN and/or WLAN technologiesto communicate with the mobile communication devices 114 and 122.

In operation, the baseband processor 214 may be operable to packetizethe data output from the MRC 212 and communicate the resultingpacketized data to the transceiver 216. For example, the basebandprocessor 214 may be operable to encapsulate the output data from theMRC 212 into IP packets. The transceiver 216 may be operable to transmitthe resulting IP packets utilizing, for example, Bluetooth or WiFi, tothe mobile communication devices 114 and 122.

In various embodiments of the invention, the phased antenna array module136 and the multiband mobile receiver 230 may be integrated in a smallboard module or device to make it portable. The transceiver 216 in thesmall board module or device may utilize, for example, Bluetooth (BT)and/or WiFi (WLAN—802.11a/b/g/n/ac). In this regard, the small board ormodule may be operable to receive satellite television signals and/orterrestrial television signals and convert the corresponding receivedsignals to IP packets that are communicated wirelessly via thetransceiver 216. In this regard, the corresponding encapsulate IPsatellite and/or terrestrial television packets may be communicated to aWiFi or BT enabled communication device such as a tablet or asmartphone.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary I/Q RF receive processingchain module of a full spectrum capture diversity receiver, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 3,there is shown an I/Q RF receive processing chain module 300. The I/Q RFreceive processing chain module 300 comprises a plurality of n I/Q RFreceive processing chains, where n is an integer. The plurality of n I/QRF receive processing chains are referenced as 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306_(n). Each of the n I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . ., 306 _(n) are substantially similar.

The I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁ comprises an in-phase (I)path and a quadrature (Q) path. The in-phase path of the I/Q RF receiveprocessing chains 306 ₁ comprises a mixer 308 _(I), a filter 310 _(I),and an analog to digital converter (ADC) 312 _(I). The quadrature pathof the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 _(I) comprises a mixer 308_(Q), a filter 310 _(Q), and an analog to digital converter (ADC) 312_(Q).

Each of the mixers 308 _(I), 308 _(Q) may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to mix thecorresponding signal 302 ₁ with a local oscillator signal (not shown) togenerate the signal 309 _(I), 309 _(Q), respectively. The mixers 308_(I), 308 _(Q) are operable to mix the signal 302 ₁ with a pair ofin-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) local oscillator signals, respectively,to generate the corresponding pair of in-phase and quadrature signals309 _(I), 309 _(Q).

In some embodiments of the invention, the mixers in each of the I/Q RFreceive processing chains may be operable to function with similarcharacteristics and in other embodiments of the invention, the mixers ineach of the I/Q RF receive processing chains may be operable to functionwith different characteristics. For example, the mixers 308 _(I), 308_(Q) may be configured to operate with a higher bandwidth than themixers (not shown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processingchain 306 ₂. Similarly, the mixers (not shown), which may be within theI/Q RF receive processing chain 306 ₂ may be configured to operate witha higher bandwidth than the mixers (not shown), which may be within theI/Q RF receive processing chain 306 _(n), and the mixers 308 _(I), 308_(Q), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain 306 _(n).

The phase and/or frequency of the local oscillator signals (not shown),which are input to the mixers in each of the I/Q RF receive processingchains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _(n), may be controlled via one or moresignals from the baseband processor 214, which is illustrated in FIG.2A. In accordance with various embodiments of the invention, the phaseand/or frequency of the local oscillator signals, which are input to themixers in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . .. , 306 _(n), may be controlled by the baseband processor 214 based onwhich one or more terrestrial television channels or satellitetelevision channels have been selected for consumption on the mobilecommunication devices 114, 122. The phase and/or frequency of the localoscillator signals, which are input to the mixers in each of the I/Q RFreceive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _(n), may becontrolled by the baseband processor 214 based the number of terrestrialand/or satellite television channels being captured. The phase and/orfrequency of the local oscillator signals, which are input to the mixersin each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . ,306 _(n), may be generated from the LOGEN 209, which is illustrated inFIG. 2A.

The filters in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306₂, . . . , 306 _(n) may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable to filter out undesired frequenciesfrom the corresponding signals that are output from the oscillators ineach of the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306_(n). For example, each of the filters 310 _(I), 310 _(Q) in the I/Q RFreceive processing chains 306 ₁ may be operable to filter out undesiredfrequencies from the signals 309 _(I), 309 _(Q) to generate thecorresponding analog signals 311 _(I), 311 _(Q).

In some embodiments of the invention, the filters in each of the I/Q RFreceive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _(n) may be operableto function with similar characteristics and in other embodiments of theinvention, the filters in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _(n) may be operable to function withdifferent characteristics. For example, the filters 310 _(I), 310 _(Q),which are within the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, may beconfigured to operate with a higher bandwidth than the filters (notshown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain 306 ₂.Similarly, the filters (not shown), which may be within the I/Q RFreceive processing chain 306 ₂ may be configured to operate with ahigher bandwidth than the mixers (not shown), which may be within theI/Q RF receive processing chain 306 _(n), and the mixers 310 _(I), 310_(Q), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain 306 _(n).

The ADCs in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, .. . , 306 _(n) may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may be operable to convert the analog signals from thecorresponding signals that are output from the filters in each of theI/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _(n). Forexample, each of the ADC 312 _(I), 312 _(Q) in the I/Q RF receiveprocessing chains 306 ₁ may be operable to convert the analog signals311 _(I), 311 _(Q) to the corresponding digital signals 313 _(I), 313_(Q). The ADCs may be preceded by a frequency conversion step andfiltering to shift a higher frequency band to a lower frequency orbaseband, where it is easier to design wideband data converters.

In some embodiments of the invention, the ADCs in each of the I/Q RFreceive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _(n) may be operableto function with similar characteristics and in other embodiments of theinvention, the ADCs in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _(n) may be operable to function with differentcharacteristics. For example, the ADCs 312 _(I), 312 _(Q), which arewithin the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, may be configured tooperate with a higher bandwidth than the ADCs (not shown), which may bewithin the I/Q RF receive processing chain 306 ₂. Similarly, the ADCs(not shown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain 306₂ may be configured to operate with a higher bandwidth than the ADCs(not shown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain 306_(n), and the ADC 310 _(I), 310 _(Q), which may be within the I/Q RFreceive processing chain 306 _(n).

In operation, the baseband processor 214 may instruct the full bandcapture diversity receiver 200 to capture a specified number ofterrestrial television channels and/or satellite television channels. Inthis regard, the baseband processor 214 may be operable to configure themultiplexer that feeds the I/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306₂, . . . , 306 _(n) to select and enable a corresponding number of theI/Q RF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _(n), whichare to be utilized to handle reception and demodulation of the specifiednumber of terrestrial television channels and/or satellite televisionchannels. In some embodiments of the invention, only those I/Q RFreceive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _(n) which areselected by the processor are powered and any remaining ones of the I/QRF receive processing chains 306 ₁, 306 ₂, . . . , 306 _(n) that are notselected are powered down.

U.S. application Ser. No. 13/356,265, which was filed on Jan. 23, 2012disclosures operation of an exemplary full spectrum capture (FSC)receiver and is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a plurality of multiband mobileradios, which are coupled in a daisy chain arrangement, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 4, there areshown a premises 402, a plurality of multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410b, . . . , 410 n, an integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box414 and a television or monitor 416. The plurality of multiband mobileradios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n may also be referred to as radioheads.

The premises 402 may comprise, for example, a home, a building, anoffice, and in general, any dwelling. Each of the plurality of multibandmobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n may be placed within thepremises 402. For example, each of the plurality of multiband mobileradios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n may be placed in a window and/orattic of a home, which may enable them to adequately receive satellitetelevision signals and terrestrial television signals.

Each of the plurality of multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . ,410 n, may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or codethat may be operable to receive satellite television signals andterrestrial television signals. Each of the plurality of multibandmobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n may comprise a plurality ofphased array antennas that may be operable to receive satellitetelevision signals and terrestrial television signals. In one exemplaryembodiment of the invention, each of the plurality of multiband mobileradios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n may be operable to downconvert thereceived satellite television signals and terrestrial television signalsto corresponding intermediate frequency signals. For example, each ofthe plurality of multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n maybe operable to downconvert the received satellite television signals andterrestrial television signals to corresponding satellite televisionintermediate frequency (IF) signals and terrestrial televisionintermediate frequency signals, respectively. In another embodiment ofthe invention, each of the plurality of multiband mobile radios 410 a,410 b, . . . , 410 n may be operable to process the received satellitetelevision signals and terrestrial television signals and packetize theresulting satellite television channel content and terrestrialtelevision channel content. The received satellite television signalsand terrestrial television signals may be processed and encapsulated asIP packets or IP protocol data units.

Each of the plurality of multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . ,410 n, may be coupled in a daisy chain arrangement. In this regard, themultiband mobile radio 410 a may be communicatively coupled to themultiband mobile radio 410 b, . . . , 410 n, the multiband mobile radio410 b may be communicatively coupled to the multiband mobile radio 410c, the multiband mobile radio 410(n−1) may be communicatively coupled tothe multiband mobile radio 410 n, and so on. Each of the plurality ofmultiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n, which are coupledin a daisy chain arrangement, may be communicatively coupled via a wiredcommunication link and/or a wireless communication link. Exemplarywireless communication links may comprise WPAN and/or WLAN communicationlinks. Exemplary wired communication links may comprise coaxial cableand/or thin coaxial communication links. The connector 139 of FIG. 1Dmay be utilized to daisy chain a plurality of the multiband mobileradios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n. Other types of wireless and/or wiredcommunication links may be utilized without departing from the spiritand/or scope of the invention. In some embodiments of the invention, themultiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n may comprisecircuitry that may be operable to remodulate the satellite televisionintermediate frequency (IF) signals and terrestrial televisionintermediate frequency signals.

The wired and/or wireless communication links that communicativelycouple each of the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 nmay be operable to communicate the remodulated satellite televisionintermediate frequency (IF) signals and terrestrial televisionintermediate frequency signals along the daisy chain to one or moreother multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n or to theintegrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414. In this regard,the last one of the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 nin the daisy chain my be communicatively coupled to the integratedsatellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414.

In instances where each of the multiband mobile radio 410 b, . . . , 410n are operable to packetize the received satellite television signalsand terrestrial television signals, the packetized satellite televisionchannel content and terrestrial television channel content may beconveyed via the wired and/or wireless communication links thatcommunicatively couple each of the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b,. . . , 410 n.

The wired and/or wireless communication links that communicativelycouple each of the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 nmay also be utilized to manage, control and/or configure operation ofone or more of the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n.For example, each of the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . ,410 n may be configured and/or controlled by the integrated satelliteand terrestrial TV set-top box 414 via the wired and/or wirelesscommunication links. A common communication channel or dedicatedcommunication channel may be utilized by the integrated satellite andterrestrial TV set-top box 414 with the multiband mobile radios 410 a,410 b, . . . , 410 n.

The integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may comprisesuitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operableto receive and process the signals that are received from each or themultiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n. In this regard, theintegrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may be operableto generate satellite television channel content and terrestrialtelevision channel content from the corresponding signals that arereceived from each or the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . ,410 n. For example, the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-topbox 414 may be operable to combine or aggregate the satellite televisionintermediate frequency signals that are received from the multibandmobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n and generate correspondingsatellite television channel content. Similarly, the integratedsatellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may be operable to combineor aggregate the terrestrial television intermediate frequency signalsthat are received from the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . ,410 n and generate corresponding terrestrial television channel content.Maximum ratio combining, sub-band wise combining and/or other combiningor aggregation scheme may be utilized.

In instances where the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410n are operable to process the received satellite television signals andoutput corresponding encapsulated IP packets, the integrated satelliteand terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may be operable to combine thesatellite television packets and generate corresponding satellitetelevision channel content. Similarly, in instances where the multibandmobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n are operable to process thereceived terrestrial television signals and output correspondingencapsulated as IP packets or IP protocol data units, the integratedsatellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may be operable to combinethe terrestrial television packets and generate correspondingterrestrial television channel content. The generated correspondingterrestrial television channel content and/or the generatedcorresponding terrestrial television channel content may be communicatedto the television or monitor 416.

The integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may beoperable to determine which one of the satellite television intermediatefrequency signals and the terrestrial television intermediate frequencysignals comprises the better quality. Based on the determination, theintegrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may be operableto transparently output the corresponding satellite television channelcontent or terrestrial television channel content to the television ormonitor 416.

U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 25014US02)discloses an exemplary integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-topbox and is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In operation, the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box414 may be operable to configure, control and/or manage operation of themultiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n. For example, theintegrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may be operableto setup each of the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 nto communicate on one or more channels in order to coordinate operationof the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n.

The integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may also beoperable to configure the phased antenna arrays for each of themultiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n. In this regard, theintegrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may adjust thephase antenna arrays for each of the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410b, . . . , 410 n in order to optimize reception of the satellitetelevision signals and/or the terrestrial television signals. Theintegrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may also beoperable to monitor the satellite television signals and/or theterrestrial television signals that are received from each of themultiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n. In instances whenthe integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 maydetermine that one or more of the phased array antennas may not be ableto receive satellite television signals and/or the terrestrialtelevision signals, the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-topbox 414 may be operable to power down corresponding circuitry within amultiband radio in order to consume power.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the integratedsatellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 in the premises 402 may beoperable to offload traffic from a congested network, such as a homenetwork. For example, in instances where an in-premises network may belocated with the premises 402 and the in-premises network is congested,the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may beoperable to offload the handling of some traffic from the in-premisesnetwork to the multiband mobile radios 410 a, 410 b, . . . , 410 n. Inanother aspect of the invention, terrestrial television feeds may alsobe offloaded from a satellite dish network to conserve the bandwidth onthe satellite dish network.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary diversity receiver thatutilizes full spectrum capture and is operable to remodulate IF signals,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 5,there is shown a portion of a multiband mobile receiver 530 comprising afull spectrum capture diversity receiver 200, a baseband processor 214and a remodulator 217.

The baseband processor 214 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to control operation of themultiband mobile receiver 530 including operation of the full spectrumcapture diversity receiver 200 and the remodulator 217.

The remodulator 217 may comprise, for example, a mixer and filter module219, a DAC 220, a power amplifier driver (PAD), an output interface 224,a connector 226 and one or more antennas 228. In some embodiments of theinvention, the remodulator 217 may be integrated with the full spectrumcapture diversity receiver 200. In some embodiments of the invention,the remodulator 217, the full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200and the baseband processor 214 may be integrated on a single chip, onthe same substrate or on the same package. The remodulator 217 may alsoshare some components with the full spectrum capture diversity receiver200. For example, the LOGEN 209 may be utilized to drive one or more ofthe mixers in the remodulator 217.

The full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200 may comprise suitablelogic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to utilizefull spectrum capture to capture and demodulate one or more satellitetelevision channels and/or one or more terrestrial television channels.The full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200 may be operable todownconvert signals for the demodulated one or more satellite televisionchannels to one or more corresponding intermediate frequency satellitetelevision signals. The full spectrum capture diversity receiver 200 mayalso be operable to downconvert signals for the demodulated one or moreterrestrial television channels to one or more correspondingintermediate frequency terrestrial television signals. The full spectrumcapture diversity receiver 200 may be substantially similar to the fullspectrum capture diversity receiver 200, which is illustrated in anddescribed with respect to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B.

The demodulator 217 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable to remodulate the one or morecorresponding intermediate frequency that may be generated by the fullspectrum capture diversity receiver 200. In this regard, the remodulator217 may be operable to remodulate intermediate frequency satellitetelevision signals and/or intermediate frequency terrestrial televisionsignals that are generated within the multiband mobile receiver 230.

In operation, the baseband processor 214 may be operable to configureand control operation of the remodulator 217. The remodulator 217 may beoperable to remodulate the one or more corresponding intermediatefrequency satellite television signals and/or intermediate frequencyterrestrial television signals, which are generated by the full spectrumcapture diversity receiver 200. The multiband receiver 230 may beoperable to communicate the remodulated one or more correspondingintermediate frequency satellite television signals and/or remodulatedone or more corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial televisionsignals for communication to one or more other multiband receiverscomprising one or more phased array antennas. For example, the multibandmobile radio 410 a may be operable to generate intermediate frequencysatellite television signals and/or intermediate frequency terrestrialtelevision signals, which may be remodulated and communicated to theband mobile radio 410 a. Similarly, the multiband mobile radio 410(n−1)may be operable to generate intermediate frequency satellite televisionsignals and/or intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals,which may be remodulated and communicated to the multiband mobile radio410 n. The multiband mobile radio 410 n may be operable to generateintermediate frequency satellite television signals and/or intermediatefrequency terrestrial television signals, which may be remodulated andcommunicated to the integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box414. The integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may beoperable to demodulate the intermediate frequency satellite televisionsignals and/or intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals andextract corresponding satellite television content and/or terrestrialtelevision content.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for utilizing fullspectrum capture for communicating with a mobile device, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 6, there areshown a plurality of steps 602 though 612. In step 602, a receiver,which is operable to utilize full spectrum capture, may capture spectrumcomprising one or more satellite television channels and/or one or moreterrestrial television channels. In step 604, the receiver discriminatesbetween the satellite television signals and non-satellite televisionsignals and also the terrestrial television signals and non-terrestrialtelevision signals, which are in the captured spectrum and onlyprocesses the desired satellite television signals and terrestrialtelevision signals. In step 606, the receiver demodulates the one ormore satellite television channels and/or the one or more terrestrialtelevision channels, which are in the captured spectrum. In step 608,the receiver generates output satellite television channel content fromthe demodulated one or more satellite television channels and generatesoutput terrestrial television channel content from the demodulated oneor more terrestrial television channels. In step 610, the receiverpacketizes the generated output satellite television channel content andpacketizes the generated output terrestrial television channel content.In step 612, the receiver may communicate the packetized outputsatellite television channel content and/or the packetized outputterrestrial television channel content to a consumption device.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for utilizing fullspectrum capture for communicating with a mobile device, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 7, there areshown a plurality of steps 702 though 714. In step 702, a multibandmobile receiver, which is operable to utilize full spectrum capture, maycapture spectrum comprising one or more satellite television channelsand/or one or more terrestrial television channels. In step 704, themultiband mobile receiver discriminates between the satellite televisionsignals and non-satellite television signals and also the terrestrialtelevision signals and non-terrestrial television signals, which are inthe captured spectrum and only processes the desired satellitetelevision signals and terrestrial television signals. In step 706, themultiband mobile receiver demodulates the one or more satellitetelevision channels and/or the one or more terrestrial televisionchannels, which are in the captured spectrum.

In step 708, the multiband mobile receiver downconverts signals for thedemodulated one or more satellite television channels to correspondingIF satellite television signals and downconverts signals for thedemodulated one or more terrestrial television channels to correspondingIF terrestrial television signals. In step 710, the multiband mobilereceiver remodulates the IF satellite television signals and remodulatesthe IF terrestrial television signals. In step 712, the multiband mobilereceiver communicates the remodulated IF satellite television signalsand the remodulated IF terrestrial television signals to one or moreother multiband mobile receivers. In step 714, one of the one or moremultiband mobile receivers communicates the remodulated IF satellitetelevision signals and the remodulated IF terrestrial television signalsto an integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for utilizing fullspectrum capture for communicating with a mobile device, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 8, there areshown a plurality of steps 802 though 812. In step 802, a multibandmobile receiver, which is operable to utilize full spectrum capture, maycapture spectrum comprising one or more satellite television channelsand/or one or more terrestrial television channels. In step 804, themultiband mobile receiver discriminates between the satellite televisionsignals and non-satellite television signals and also the terrestrialtelevision signals and non-terrestrial television signals, which are inthe captured spectrum and only processes the desired satellitetelevision signals and terrestrial television signals. In step 806, themultiband mobile receiver demodulates the one or more satellitetelevision channels and/or the one or more terrestrial televisionchannels, which are in the captured spectrum.

In step 808, the multiband mobile receiver downconverts signals for thedemodulated one or more satellite television channels to correspondingIF satellite television signals and downconverts signals for thedemodulated one or more terrestrial television channels to correspondingIF terrestrial television signals. In step 810, the multiband mobilereceiver remodulates the IF satellite television signals and remodulatesthe IF terrestrial television signals. In step 812, the multiband mobilereceiver communicates the remodulated IF satellite television signalsand the remodulated IF terrestrial television signals to an integratedsatellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414

In various aspects of the invention, a multiband receiver, for example,the multiband mobile receiver 108, may comprise a diversity antennasystem such as the phased array antennas 140 a, 140 a, . . . 140 n,which may be operable to receive satellite and terrestrial televisionsignals. The multiband receiver 108 is operable to capture spectrumcomprising one or more satellite television channels and/or one or moreterrestrial television channels and demodulate the one or more satellitetelevision channels and/or the one or more terrestrial televisionchannels. The diversity antenna system such as the phased array antennas140 a, 140 a, . . . 140 n may be integrated on a board or substratewithin the multiband receiver 410 a. The multiband receiver 108 may beoperable to discriminate between the satellite television signals andthe non-satellite television signals in the captured spectrum and alsodiscriminate between the terrestrial television signals andnon-terrestrial television signals in the captured spectrum. Themultiband receiver 108 may be operable to generate output satellitetelevision channel content from the demodulated one or more satellitetelevision channels and also generate output terrestrial televisionchannel content from the demodulated one or more terrestrial televisionchannels. The multiband receiver 108 may be operable to packetize thegenerated output satellite television channel content and also packetizethe output generated terrestrial television channel content. Themultiband receiver 108 may be operable to communicate the generatedoutput satellite television channel content to one or more mobilecommunication devices and also communicate the generated outputterrestrial television channel content to one or more mobilecommunication devices 114.

The multiband receiver 108 may be operable to downconvert signals forthe demodulated one or more satellite television channels to one or morecorresponding intermediate frequency satellite television signals andalso downconvert signals for the demodulated one or more terrestrialtelevision channels to one or more corresponding intermediate frequencyterrestrial television signals. The multiband receiver 108 may beoperable to remodulate the one or more corresponding intermediatefrequency satellite television signals and also remodulate the one ormore corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial televisionsignals. The multiband receiver 108 may be operable to communicate theremodulated one or more corresponding intermediate frequency satellitetelevision signals to one or more other multiband receivers comprisingone or more diversity antenna systems.

In some embodiments of the invention, the multiband receiver 108comprising the diversity antenna system and the one or more othermultiband receivers comprising one or more diversity antenna systems maybe coupled in a daisy-chain arrangement. The multiband receiver 108 mayalso be operable to communicate the remodulated one or morecorresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals tothe one or more other multiband receivers comprising one or morediversity antenna systems. The multiband receiver 108 comprising thediversity antenna system and the one or more other multiband receiverscomprising the one or more diversity antenna systems may be coupled toan integrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414. Theintegrated satellite and terrestrial TV set-top box 414 may be operableto extract satellite television channel content from the remodulated oneor more corresponding intermediate frequency satellite televisionsignals and also extract terrestrial television channel content from theremodulated one or more corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrialtelevision signals.

As utilized herein the terms “circuits” and “circuitry” refer tophysical electronic components (i.e. hardware) and any software and/orfirmware (“code”) which may configure the hardware, be executed by thehardware, and or otherwise be associated with the hardware. As usedherein, for example, a particular processor and memory may comprise afirst “circuit” when executing a first one or more lines of code and maycomprise a second “circuit” when executing a second one or more lines ofcode. As utilized herein, “and/or” means any one or more of the items inthe list joined by “and/or”. As an example, “x and/or y” means anyelement of the three-element set {(x), (y), (x, y)}. As another example,“x, y, and/or z” means any element of the seven-element set {(x), (y),(z), (x, y), (x, z), (y, z), (x, y, z)}. As utilized herein, the term“exemplary” means serving as a non-limiting example, instance, orillustration. As utilized herein, the terms “e.g.,” and “for example”set off lists of one or more non-limiting examples, instances, orillustrations. As utilized herein, circuitry is “operable” to perform afunction whenever the circuitry comprises the necessary hardware andcode (if any is necessary) to perform the function, regardless ofwhether performance of the function is disabled, or not enabled, by someuser-configurable setting.

Other embodiments of the invention may provide a computer readabledevice and/or a non-transitory computer readable medium, and/or amachine readable device and/or a non-transitory machine readable medium,having stored thereon, a machine code and/or a computer program havingat least one code section executable by a machine and/or a computer,thereby causing the machine and/or computer to perform the steps asdescribed herein for full spectrum capture for satellite and terrestrialapplications

Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware,software, or a combination of hardware and software. The presentinvention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least onecomputer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elementsare spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind ofcomputer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methodsdescribed herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware andsoftware may be a general-purpose computer system with a computerprogram that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computersystem such that it carries out the methods described herein.

The present invention may also be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of aset of instructions intended to cause a system having an informationprocessing capability to perform a particular function either directlyor after either or both of the following: a) conversion to anotherlanguage, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different materialform.

While the present invention has been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope.Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited tothe particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention willinclude all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for communication, the methodcomprising: in a multiband receiver comprising a diversity antennasystem that is operable to receive satellite television signals and/orterrestrial television signals: capturing spectrum comprising one ormore satellite television channels and/or one or more terrestrialtelevision channels; and demodulating said one or more satellitetelevision channels and/or said one or more terrestrial televisionchannels from said captured spectrum.
 2. The method according to claim1, wherein said diversity antenna system is integrated on a board orsubstrate within said multiband receiver.
 3. The method according toclaim 1, comprising one or both of: discriminating between saidsatellite television signals and non-satellite television signals insaid captured spectrum; and discriminating between said terrestrialtelevision signals and non-terrestrial television signals in saidcaptured spectrum.
 4. The method according to claim 1, comprising one orboth of: generating output satellite television channel content fromsaid demodulated one or more satellite television channels; andgenerating output terrestrial television channel content from saiddemodulated one or more terrestrial television channels.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 4, comprising one or both of: packetizing saidgenerated output satellite television channel content; and packetizingsaid generated output terrestrial television channel content.
 6. Themethod according to claim 5, comprising one or both of: communicatingsaid generated output satellite television channel content from saidmultiband receiver to one or more mobile communication devices; andcommunicating said generated output terrestrial television channelcontent from said multiband receiver to one or more mobile communicationdevices.
 7. The method according to claim 1, comprising one or both of:downconverting signals for said demodulated one or more satellitetelevision channels to one or more corresponding intermediate frequencysatellite television signals; and downconverting signals for saiddemodulated one or more terrestrial television channels to one or morecorresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals. 8.The method according to claim 7, comprising one or both of: remodulatingsaid one or more corresponding intermediate frequency satellitetelevision signals; and remodulating said one or more correspondingintermediate frequency terrestrial television signals.
 9. The methodaccording to claim 8, comprising one or both of: communicating saidremodulated one or more corresponding intermediate frequency satellitetelevision signals to one or more other multiband receivers comprisingone or more diversity antenna systems, wherein said multiband receivercomprising said diversity antenna system and said one or more othermultiband receivers comprising one or more diversity antenna systems arecoupled in a daisy-chain arrangement; and communicating said remodulatedone or more corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial televisionsignals to said one or more other multiband receivers comprising one ormore diversity antenna systems.
 10. The method according to claim 9,wherein one of said multiband receiver comprising said diversity antennasystem and said one or more other multiband receivers comprising one ormore diversity antenna systems is coupled to an integrated satellite andterrestrial TV set-top box that is operable to, one or both of: extractsatellite television channel content from said remodulated one or morecorresponding intermediate frequency satellite television signals; andextract terrestrial television channel content from said remodulated oneor more corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial televisionsignals.
 11. A system for communication, the system comprising: amultiband receiver comprising a diversity antenna system that areoperable to receive satellite television signals and/or terrestrialtelevision signals, said multiband receiver being operable to: capturespectrum comprising one or more satellite television channels and/or oneor more terrestrial television channels; and demodulate said one or moresatellite television channels and/or said one or more terrestrialtelevision channels from said captured spectrum.
 12. The systemaccording to claim 11, wherein said diversity antenna system isintegrated on a board or substrate within said multiband receiver. 13.The system according to claim 11, wherein said multiband receiver isoperable to one or both of: discriminate between said satellitetelevision signals and non-satellite television signals in said capturedspectrum; and discriminate between said terrestrial television signalsand non-terrestrial television signals in said captured spectrum. 14.The system according to claim 11, wherein said multiband receiver isoperable to one or both of: generate output satellite television channelcontent from said demodulated one or more satellite television channels;and generate output terrestrial television channel content from saiddemodulated one or more terrestrial television channels.
 15. The systemaccording to claim 14, wherein said multiband receiver is operable toone or both of: packetize said generated output satellite televisionchannel content; and packetize said generated output terrestrialtelevision channel content.
 16. The system according to claim 15,wherein said multiband receiver is operable to one or both of:communicate said generated output satellite television channel contentto one or more mobile communication devices; and communicate saidgenerated output terrestrial television channel content to one or moremobile communication devices.
 17. The system according to claim 11,wherein said multiband receiver is operable to one or both of:downconvert signals for said demodulated one or more satellitetelevision channels to one or more corresponding intermediate frequencysatellite television signals; and downconvert signals for saiddemodulated one or more terrestrial television channels to one or morecorresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial television signals. 18.The system according to claim 17, wherein said multiband receiver isoperable to one or both of: remodulate said one or more correspondingintermediate frequency satellite television signals; and remodulate saidone or more corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial televisionsignals.
 19. The system according to claim 18, wherein said multibandreceiver is operable to one or both of: communicate said remodulated oneor more corresponding intermediate frequency satellite televisionsignals to one or more other multiband receivers comprising one or morediversity antenna systems, wherein said multiband receiver comprisingsaid diversity antenna system and said one or more other multibandreceivers comprising one or more diversity antenna systems are coupledin a daisy-chain arrangement; and communicate said remodulated one ormore corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial television signalsto said one or more other multiband receivers comprising one or morediversity antenna systems.
 20. The system according to claim 19, whereinone of said multiband receiver comprising said diversity antenna systemand said one or more other multiband receivers comprising one or morediversity antenna systems is coupled to an integrated satellite andterrestrial TV set-top box that is operable to, one or both of: extractsatellite television channel content from said remodulated one or morecorresponding intermediate frequency satellite television signals; andextract terrestrial television channel content from said remodulated oneor more corresponding intermediate frequency terrestrial televisionsignals.